


Two Reflections into One

by madisonrene



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Jamie and Tyler are terrible at feelings, Jordie makes fun of them for it, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 12:23:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4137426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madisonrene/pseuds/madisonrene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title from "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake</p><p>Based on the tumblr post "maybe the little bruises and cuts that show up on your body seemingly out of nowhere are actually little injuries that happened to your soulmate and you get the same marks on your skin as them"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Reflections into One

Jamie first started noticing the weird bruises when he was around eleven. Of course they had shown up before then, but he and everyone else had thought they’d come from him just being a kid who played hockey. It wasn’t until he was eleven and sick for a whole week with the flu that he realized these bruises were different.

On his third day of being sick, Jamie woke up to find a large, purple bruise on his thigh. He looked down at it and immediately screamed. Jordie came running in and found Jamie on his bed, staring at his leg and screaming. Jordie finally calmed him down enough to ask his brother what was wrong.

Jamie, in between sobs, told Jordie “I dunno what ha-happened. It just showed up!”

Jordie looked down at Jamie’s leg and winced. The purple bruise covered most of Jamie’s thigh and it looked fresh. “Did you get hurt at practice? That looks pretty bad”.

“I didn’t do anything!” Jamie sobbed. “It’s just _there._ ”

Jordie was confused, but he believed his brother. Unsure of what to do, Jordie went to the pamphlet he had been given in health class about soul bonds. It didn’t say much, but mentioned something about injuries and soulmates. Jordie went to their dad’s study and grabbed one of the books about soulmates. He searched the index for ‘injuries’ and flipped to the section. According to the book, soulmates who are connected by injuries shared an incredibly strong bond.

So Jamie has a soulmate already? Most people had them, but they usually didn’t find out about them until much later. Jordie had heard of all the different kinds of soulmate tattoos that appeared when people got older, but he had never heard of the injury connection. Apparently, being connected this young and through their bodies meant that Jamie and his soulmate’s connection was incredibly strong.

Jordie took his findings to Jamie, trying to explain them in the easiest way possible. Jamie just nodded a lot, eyes wide. “I have a soulmate? And it’s a really strong bond?”

Jamie looked a little pleased, even though he was still crying a little. “I guess so buddy. You got the lucky draw.”

Jordie tucked sick Jamie back in and gave him medicine. After that day, every time Jamie got an injury that wasn’t his, his face lit up and he would stroke it for hours, whispering to himself.

~~~

Tyler and his parents noticed the injuries much earlier. Tyler was around seven when he woke up from a nap crying and clutching his arm. His mom came rushing in immediately. “What happened baby? What’s wrong?”

Tyler just shook his head and looked terrified. His mom reached out to touch his arm. As soon as she made contact, Tyler wailed even louder.

Confused and scared, his mom rushed him to the hospital. When the doctor was checking Tyler out, he kept asking him questions about his arm. “Were you playing? Did you fall? Did someone hit you?”

Tyler kept shaking his head. After exhausting every possibility, the doctor asked Tyler’s mom to go into the hall.

“Have you ever noticed this before? Has Tyler ever gotten an injury that you were unsure of where it came from?” The doctor looked concerned.

 “Of course. He’s a kid – there’s always a bruise or scrape that appears out of nowhere.”

The doctor nodded. “Sure that’s true. But most kids don’t end up with a broken arm without an explanation.”

The doctor ended up giving Tyler’s mom a pamphlet that read SOULMATE INJURIES. She read it to Tyler, attempting to explain the situation. “So I have a soulmate and they broke their arm so I broke mine too?” Tyler asked.

“Yes, honey. Your soulmate broke her arm.”

“Does this mean that when I get hurt my soulmate gets hurt too?”

“Yes, honey”

Suddenly, Tyler was concerned. “Does this mean I can’t play hockey mom? I still wanna play hockey.”

His mom looks thoughtful for a minute. “I think you can still play hockey. It’s really no different than if we didn’t know about your soulmate. You can still do anything you want to.”

Tyler thought about his soulmate a lot over the next few years of his life. Every time he got an injury from hockey, he worried about his soulmate. He stopped worrying as much when he realized he ended up with his fair share of bruises and cuts from his soulmate, who was apparently as adventurous as Tyler was.

~~~

Jamie was fifteen when he realized he was gay. He kept it quiet for nearly three years, too afraid to tell anyone. When he was almost eighteen, he decided he needed to tell someone. He went to Jordie’s room late one night and knocked on his door.

“Come in,” Jordie hollers. Jamie opens his door and steps in. He stands awkwardly in front of Jordie’s bed, looking at his feet.

“What’s up, Chubbs?” Jordie looked up at him. Jamie started crying before he could even say anything. Jordie’s eyes got wide and he pulled Jamie onto his bed and into his arms. Jamie wasn’t a big crier, so Jordie was immediately alarmed.

“Shhh Jame it’s okay. You gotta tell me what’s wrong bud.”

Jamie continues crying, shaking slightly in Jordie’s grasp. Jordie moves his hands to Jamie’s arms, rubbing them up and down. He ends up pushing Jamie’s sleeves up slightly, revealing small cuts on his arms. Jordie looks up at Jamie.

“Jame, what is this?”

Jamie freezes and quickly pulls his sleeves down. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Jordie grabs Jamie before he can leave, pulling him back down and onto his lap.

“Show me. Now.”

Slowly, Jamie pulls up his sweatshirt sleeves, revealing arms littered with cuts and bruises. Jordie reaches out to stroke them.

“Jamie,” he says softly.

Jamie starts to cry again, but this time it’s different. He lets it all out, crying for what feels like hours. Jordie rubs his back and whispers ‘it’s okay’ over and over again. Jordie waits until Jamie’s sobs are sniffles and speaks again.

“Bud, what’s goin’ on?” he strokes Jamie’s hair softly. “Why’d you do it?”

Jamie finally sits up and meets Jordie’s eyes. He looks scared. Jordie waits patiently, rubbing soothing circles on Jamie’s back.

“Jor, I’m – I’m gay.” Jamie croaks, looking down at his hands.

Suddenly, Jordie grabs Jamie into a bear hug and holds him tightly. “Me too bud. Me too.” 

Jamie breaks away and looks up at Jordie. “Really Jor?”

Jordie nods.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jamie asks..

“I was scared too Jame. I didn’t know you were…gay too. I thought you might hate me.”

“I could never hate you Jordie.” Jamie says before he pulls Jordie in for another hug.

Jordie pulls back and looks at Jamie, grasping his wrists lightly. “This though. This has gotta stop bud. I love you too much to let this happen.”

Jamie looks down. “Hey.” Jordie says softly. “It’s gonna be okay Chubbs. We’ll figure this out.” Jamie nods at him and smiles weakly.

~~~

When Tyler was fourteen, small cuts began to appear on his arms. At first there was just one that came on its own and faded on its own. As the year went on, they started appearing more frequently. Tyler wished he could talk to his soulmate. Ask them what was wrong and hug them while they cried. They had to be hurting so bad.

Tyler was thankful that he lived in Canada and could wear long sleeves for much of the year. Otherwise people might think he had a problem. He felt really bad for his soulmate because they actually had a problem, but mostly he was just grateful his cuts showed up without seeping blood. That would have been impossible to explain to his mom, even with her knowing about his soulmate. The cuts stopped appearing when Tyler was fifteen and he had never been more relieved in his life.

Tyler was in high school when he realized he was gay. He had spent middle school hitting on girls and going to movies with them, but it never felt right. On his sixteenth birthday, Brownie and his other friends took him to the park to get drunk. Tyler drank way too much and ended up in Brownie’s lap. He stayed there for the rest of the night, snuggling his head into Brownie’s neck.

The next day, Tyler woke up with a hangover and the realization that he was in love with Brownie. He immediately called Brownie and invited him over.

“I’m hungover as fuck Tyler can’t this wait?”

“No Brownie come on. Get your lazy ass over here,” Tyler insisted.

“Fine. You’re lucky I like you,” Brownie hung up.

Tyler scrambled to get up and get dressed.  He was suddenly very worried about what he should wear. He shook his head at himself. It’s just Brownie. He never worried about what Brownie thought before. _Yeah but that was before you were in love with him._ Tyler chose his favorite t-shirt and shorts and put them on while he waited for Brownie.

It had barely been five minutes when he heard Brownie coming up the stairs, loud as ever. He opened the door and threw himself on Tyler’s bed, landing partially on Tyler’s legs.

“Ow dick. That kind of hurt.”

“Ooooh worried I might hurt the ole soulmate?”

Brownie was the only person apart from Tyler’s mom that knew about his soulmate. Tyler coughed, “Uh no. I just…”

Brownie looked up at Tyler, who was now turning very red. “What’s your deal dude? You look like a fuckin tomato.”

Tyler looked up at Brownie, at a loss for words. Brownie looked back at him, confused.

“Is everything okay Tyler? You look like death dude.”

Tyler took a deep breath, “I think I’m gay Brownie.”

Brownie looked at him for a minute with his mouth hanging open. Then he shook his head quickly and said “Hey man good for you! More ladies for me then.” Brownie winked and pulled Tyler into a hug as his whole world crashed down.

Tyler immediately started to cry. Brownie quickly pulled back and looked at him.

“Dude it’s okay. I’m totally 100% okay with this. You’re still my wifey, no matter what.” Tyler smiled weakly and nodded.

“Now let’s play some fuckin video games man,” Brownie grabbed a controller and turned on the console. Tyler grabbed the other controller and started to play, but his mind was still focused on his feelings for Brownie. Should he tell him? Tyler had never kept anything from Brownie and he wasn’t about to start.

“Hey Brownie?” Tyler paused the game and turned to face him. “There’s something else.” Brownie looked at him for a second and Tyler could tell that he knew.

Tyler told him anyway, “I think I love you.”

Brownie smiled sympathetically, “Tyler, I love you too, but not like that man. I’ll always be here for you, but I just can’t be with you like that.”

Tyler nodded as tears started to fall. He wiped his eyes, “Let’s just uh get back to the game” Brownie nodded like he didn’t know what else to do.

Brownie left a little later and Tyler finally let the real tears fall. He was angry and sad and frustrated. _Why did he have to like Brownie? Why did his best friend and first real crush have to be straight? Why did he have to be gay?_ Tyler was so angry at himself. He thought of his soulmate and punched his wall. Hard. He immediately wished he hadn’t as he heard his bones crunch.

His mom came running into his room. She must have heard him hit the wall.

“Tyler Paul! What are you doing?!” He turned to her, holding his hand, tears streaming down his face. His mom quickly wrapped him in her arms, stroking his hair while he sobbed into her chest. “What’s wrong baby? What happened?”

Tyler looked up at her and said, “I’m gay mom.” He went right back to sobbing.

“Oh baby is that all? It’s okay. Of course it’s okay. We love you no matter what, no matter who you love. We just want you to be happy.”

Tyler looked up at his mom and smiled weakly. She ruffled his hair and pointed to his hand, “We have to get that taken care of honey. Your soulmate’s probably not too happy with you about that.”

Tyler shrugged and said, “He’d understand.”

~~~

When he got to Ottawa for the All Star game, Tyler was psyched. He was ready to compete against the other players, but mostly he was ready to meet them. Tyler loved meeting the players on the other teams, many of them were players he looked up to.

Tyler expected to be picked towards the end because of his surgery, but when it was just him and a few other guys in the bench, he was worried. He really did not want to be picked last. The guy next to him – Jamie - looked at him like he was crazy when he said this out loud.

“I don’t think you’ll be last. I just had fucking appendix surgery. It’s definitely gonna be me.”

Tyler laughed and said, “Hey man, so did I. Almost fucking killed me. It was brutal.”

Jamie raises his eyebrows and nods in agreement, but doesn’t say anything else.

In the end, Jamie was right. Chara spares Tyler the embarrassment of being picked last. Jamie gets picked second to last and ends up on Chara’s team as well. They fist bump when Jamie sits down, but don’t really interact much the rest of the day.

During the game, Tyler takes a hard hip check and flies into the glass. He can already feel the bruise forming on his thigh as he skates away. Chara’s team ends up winning the game and Tyler can’t wait to go out and celebrate. They head back to the locker room and as Tyler passes Jamie he hears one of the other players admiring Jamie’s apparently new bruise.

Tyler gets a look at it and winces, thinking of his own already forming bruise in the same area. “Rough game am I right?” he says to Jamie, laughing.

Jamie looks confused and then replies, “Oh yeah. Really rough.”

Tyler doesn’t think much about the All Star weekend once it’s done and over with. He had a lot of fun doing it, but ends up jumping right back into the regular season. The Bruins are on a playoff run and he wants nothing more than to taste the victory of winning the Stanley Cup again.

~~~

Jamie was just happy to be picked for All Star weekend. He didn’t think he was half as good as most of those guys, but he was happy for the experience. He probably would have enjoyed it more if he hadn’t just had appendix surgery, but there was no way he was going to miss this.

He arrived in Ottawa with low expectations and throbbing pain in his side. He pushed the negative thoughts out of his mind as he sat down in the drafting room with all of the other players. He started to relax as people started drinking and chatting. He found himself next to another young player – Tyler Seguin from the Bruins. Jamie was kind of jealous of Tyler. He was only twenty and he already had a Stanley Cup. Despite this, Jamie found him to be a pretty nice guy.

Jamie thought it was kind of weird how he and Tyler both had appendicitis at the same time, but he had long ago stopped thinking every person he shared an injury with was his soulmate. Playing hockey his whole life had shown him that just because you both had a shoulder bruise or sprained ankle, it didn’t mean you were made for each other. Still, he kept thinking about Tyler the whole weekend. He seemed like a really nice guy and he was really cute, but he was most definitely straight. Jamie knew his type – the frat bro who partied all the time. Definitely straight.

Jamie ended up having a pretty good weekend, especially in the skills competition. When he won the accuracy shooting for his team, he couldn’t believe it. He even beat Tyler, who smiled and clapped him on the back when he heard.

Jamie doesn’t see Tyler again after they leave the locker room and doesn’t give it much thought. His brain is already back in Dallas with his team. He’s ready to get back into the regular season and the fight for a playoff spot. The Stars haven’t made it to the playoffs since Jamie’s been on the team and he’s ready for this to be their year.

~~~

The fourth of July is one of Tyler’s favorite holidays. Even though he’s Canadian, he can appreciate a holiday where people just party and drink all day in the name of America. Tyler decides he’s going to throw a huge party and invites over a bunch of people. It’s late and the party is in full swing when Tyler gets a phone call. It’s from his agent and he almost doesn’t answer it, but something makes him press talk. He ducks into one of the bedrooms as his agent begins talking to him.

Tyler’s breath catches in his throat and he swears his heart stops as his agent says, “You’ve been traded Tyler. You and Peverley are going to Dallas.”

Tyler is speechless. He knew his name wasn’t exactly at the top of anyone’s list in Boston, but he never thought he would have to leave. Tyler mumbles out some sort of reply to his agent and hangs up. The only thing Tyler wants to do now is cry, so he decides to get shitfaced instead. Tyler keeps drinking the whole weekend, trying to forget. Sometime during the weekend, someone makes a joke that Tyler thinks is so funny he decides to tweet it.

 

 

Tyler wakes up the following morning with thirty-five missed calls and over fifty text messages. _Fuck. What did I do?_ Tyler opens his voicemail and sees messages from his agent, his mom, and a few unknown numbers. _Great._

He presses play on the latest one from his agent. “Tyler, you need to answer your phone now if you want to keep your job. Dallas is pissed and this is not a good start for you. You haven’t even gotten there yet and you might have fucked it up already. Call me back. Now.”

Tyler is still confused as his dials his agent’s number. “So your phone does work, huh? Good thing. Thought I was going to have to drive to Cape Cod to drag your ass to my office. Do you know what kind of problems your little stunt is causing? We need to do cleanup immediately.”

Tyler interrupts his agent, “What is going on? What did I do?”

His agent laughs humorlessly and says, “Open up your Twitter. That’s what you did.”

Tyler walks over to his laptop and pulls up Twitter. Okay, he’s never had that many notifications before. He clicks on his profile and what he sees makes his lungs feel tight. _Fuck. I don’t remember tweeting that._

“Oh,” is all he says to his agent.

“Yeah, oh. I got a call from Jim Nill at five this morning asking me what the hell was going on and were you really serious about Dallas. He’s not too happy Tyler.”

Tyler wants to cry, but he holds it back. “What are we gonna do?”

“Basically, you’re gonna release a statement and a tweet saying you got Twitter hacked. We’re not taking responsibility for this Tyler. Then you’re going to delete your Twitter soon. Obviously we can’t trust you with it right now. We have to announce the trades now, which is earlier than they’d hoped, but their hands are tied. I’ll let you know what else is going on. Keep your phone on.”

Tyler sighed and wrapped up the conversation. _Great,_ he thought. _I haven’t played a single game with the Stars and they already hate me._ Tyler’s phone pings again and he sits down to start sorting through the messages.

There’s one from an unknown number that catches Tyler’s eye. “Hey this is Jamie Benn. Just wanna welcome you to the team. Can’t wait for training camp.”

Tyler is grateful for Jamie in that moment. At least someone is being nice to him. Tyler texts back a quick “Thanks. Me too” and throws his phone on the bed. He’s so not ready for this.

The next few days are a whirlwind of Tyler taking phone calls from his agent and frantically packing his things. He heads up to Toronto to get settled in at home before he flies down to Dallas to meet the coaching staff and do some interviews. He gets tired of repeating the same lines about working on his image and how excited he is to get a fresh start in Dallas. He just wants it all to go away.

The final straw is when an article is posted about his ‘wasted potential’ and how he is probably going to ‘ruin the Stars’. He gets a text from Jamie not long after the article is posted that says “Don’t listen to them. We got this.”

Tyler smiles and texts him back, “Let’s prove them wrong.” He doesn’t get a text back from Jamie, but he is pretty sure Jamie understands.

~~~

Jamie gets a call on the fourth of July from the new Stars manager, Jim Nill. Nill informs him of the trade they made with the Bruins and asks Jamie to reach out to Tyler Seguin.

“Make him feel welcome. When he gets to Dallas, I want you to guide him in the right direction.” Jamie thinks Nill is referring to Tyler’s partying and assures him he’ll keep an eye on Tyler. He hangs up as Jordie walks into the room.

“Who called?” Jamie explains the phone call to Jordie, who just nods and laughs before he says, “Yeah and you still don’t think they’re gonna make you captain.”

Jamie blushes and rolls his eyes.

“Seriously, Chubbs if they don’t name you captain you can punch me in the face. You’re so captain material it’s almost disgusting.”

Jamie throws a pillow at him, but Jordie ducks as he says, “So they want you to keep an eye on Seguin?”

“I don’t think it’s as much ‘keep an eye on him’ as it is just make him feel comfortable. He’s a great player and they want him to want to say here.”

 Jordie raises his eyebrows before he says, “Yeah they also don’t want him screwing up the Stars name.” Jamie just shrugs at him.

Jamie thinks Jordie is the worst luck. He had to go and say something about Tyler messing up the Stars name and now here it is not even a week later and Tyler’s in deep shit already. The Stars management is pretty pissed at him and Jamie can’t blame them. He feels bad for Tyler though. Jamie can’t imagine what it feels like to be traded. He decides to shoot Tyler a quick text, just to give him some reassurance that _someone_ is on his side. He doesn’t send him anything too intense, just a welcome to the team. He only gets a thank you text from Tyler, but it still makes him feel better.

Jamie gets a couple more calls from Jim over the next few days, updating him on what’s going on with Tyler. Every time he gets a call, Jordie follows him around making a C with his hand and chanting “Oh captain, my captain”.

Jamie has to start locking himself in his room when he gets phone calls, just in case. Jim tells Jamie about a particularly scathing article about Tyler and Jamie gets angry. Tyler really doesn’t deserve this crap, especially since he hasn’t even played in Dallas yet.

Jamie sends Tyler a text, telling him to ignore it. Tyler sends back, “Let’s prove them wrong,” and suddenly Jamie is very excited for the season to start.

~~~

When Tyler finally gets to Dallas, he is really nervous. Jamie had texted him a few days earlier, asking him when his flight came in and offering to pick him up from the airport. Tyler thought about declining, but he really needed friends. Now, he kind of regrets it. Everyone always thinks Tyler is such a flirt and extrovert, but he’s really terrible at meeting new people.

Of course Jamie wasn’t exactly new, but Tyler hadn’t seen him since the All Star game and it’s not like they had gotten really close. When he reaches the terminal, Tyler sees Jamie waiting with another man with auburn hair. Jamie introduces him as his brother Jordie as they walk out of the airport. Jordie gives Tyler a little wave, but doesn’t say anything.

When they reach the car, Jamie tries to offer Tyler the front seat, but Jordie says, “No way buddy. I don’t care if you’re the Queen of fucking England, I got dibs.”

Jamie gives Jordie an exasperated look, but Tyler just laughs and jumps in the back seat. Jamie starts the car and classic rock blares through the speakers. Jordie reaches up and switches the station to country, which earns him a smack from Jamie. Tyler leans back into his seat and listens to the brothers bicker about the radio as they drive away from the airport.

“Where are you staying Tyler?” Jamie asks.

Tyler tells him the name of his hotel and Jamie nods as he starts heading that way. “You know, you ought to find a real place Tyler,” Jordie tells him, as if Tyler hadn’t already thought of that.

When he says as much, Jamie laughs at Jordie’s surprised look. “So that’s how it’s gonna be huh Seguin? You better watch out buddy,” Jordie challenges.

Tyler puts on a mock scared face before saying, “Oh no please don’t hurt me.” They all laugh and Tyler realizes he is more relaxed than he has felt in months.

They reach Tyler’s hotel and the Benn brothers help Tyler get checked in and into his room. Jamie offers to take Tyler to dinner and the three of them end up at Jordie’s favorite steakhouse, sitting on the patio. The waiter comes and Tyler orders water. Jamie and Jordie exchange a look before doing the same. Tyler knows they’re surprised he didn’t order beer, but he’s trying to make a good impression in Dallas. He doesn’t want to start drinking on his first night. He’s grateful Jamie and Jordie don’t comment on it.

They fall easily into a conversation about the upcoming season as they wait for their food. When they get back to Tyler’s hotel, Jamie gets out and follows Tyler. When they reach the hotel door, Jamie stops Tyler. Tyler looks at Jamie, confused.

Jamie puts his hand on his shoulder and says softly, “You know, I meant what I said over the summer. I believe in you, in us.” He smiles and gives Tyler one more pat on the shoulder before he jogs back to his truck.

Tyler waves at them as they drive away and walks into his hotel in a daze. He gets to his room and closes the door. As he’s lying in bed later that night, Tyler thinks maybe Dallas won’t be so bad after all.

~~~

Jamie really doesn’t understand how Tyler got the reputation he had in Boston. Okay, he understands the drinking and partying parts, but people made him seem like such a jerk. That’s definitely not the version of Tyler Jamie sees when he picks him up from the airport. He and Jordie are standing in the terminal waiting, unsure of what to expect. They definitely didn’t expect the quiet guy who walks up to them. Jamie’s a little thrown off, but doesn’t let it bother him. He introduces Tyler to Jordie as they walk out to the truck.

Tyler stays quiet as Jamie and Jordie fight over the radio, as usual. It isn’t until Jamie includes Tyler in the conversation that Jamie feels like Tyler relaxes. Tyler chirps Jordie right away, and Jamie mentally pats himself on the back for bringing Jordie. He’s way better at people stuff than Jamie is. Jordie carries a lot of the conversation through dinner.

In fact, Jamie hardly says anything to Tyler the rest of the night. He’s worried that Tyler may think something is wrong, so when they drop Tyler off, Jamie hops out with him. He walks with him to the hotel, stopping Tyler before they get inside. Jamie pauses for a second, thinking of what to say. He really wants to make Tyler feel 100% better right there. He wants to grab him in a bear hug and tell him everything is gonna be okay and no one in Dallas can hurt him because Jamie is there.

In the end, Jamie doesn’t say any of this. Instead, he reminds Tyler of the text he sent him earlier in the summer. He wants him to know Jamie believes in him. Tyler seems confused as to why Jamie is saying this. Jamie claps his on the shoulder and practically runs back to his truck, trying to escape from the awkward moment. Jordie gives him a questioning look when he gets in the car, but Jamie just shrugs and pulls away.

Jordie lets him stay quiet for the rest of the drive home. When they reach their apartment, he turns to look at Jamie. “So Chubbs, what’s the deal? What’d you say to Seguin that you couldn’t day in front of me? Did you profess your love for him?” he waggles his eyebrows in Jamie’s direction.

Jamie blushes because yeah Tyler is _really_ attractive, but there’s no way in hell he’s telling Jordie that. He huffs out a laugh and says, “Ha ha. No, I was just trying to reassure him. Make him feel like we really want him in Dallas. He is just a kid Jordie.”

Jordie rolls his eyes, “He’s like two years younger than you Chubbs, chill.” He pauses, “It’s probably good that you said something to him though.” Jamie smiles triumphantly and Jordie swats him.

They settle in for the night, flicking on the TV to watch baseball highlights. Jamie’s mind wanders to Tyler, all alone in his hotel room. He feels bad for the guy. He vows to himself that he’s going to try to have Tyler over as much as he can. No one should be alone in a new city and they should be friends anyway. Jamie was getting the vibe from Lindy that he and Tyler were going to be Dallas’s great new line.

Later, when he’s in bed, Jamie thinks about the upcoming season. He can’t wait to get back on the ice and help Tyler show everyone how great he is. Tyler deserves to prove to everyone how wrong they really are about him.

~~~

It turns out everyone was right about Jamie and Tyler. Once training camp starts out, they just click. It’s like Tyler knows where Jamie is going to be all of the time. Sometimes even Jamie looks surprised that Tyler’s passes go straight to his tape.

Jordie was also right about Jamie being named captain. Lindy makes the announcement one day after practice and everyone claps Jamie on the back as he just smiles gratefully.

Lindy is all smiles as he closes training camp, talking about how great their year is going to be and how he can’t wait to see what they accomplish. It’s not anything Tyler hasn’t heard before, and he ends up tuning Lindy out while he looks around the room. He sees Jamie nodding intently; appearing to hang on to Lindy’s every word. Tyler chuckles and turns his attention back to Lindy. Jamie is such a dork.

As the season gets into full swing, Tyler falls into a routine. He rides to practices and home games with the Benns and hangs out with them on off days. After a few weeks, Tyler finally feels comfortable in Dallas. He moves into an apartment in the Benn’s complex and when Marshall finally gets to Dallas, it feels like home.

Tyler doesn’t pick up for the few months he’s in Dallas. He doesn’t want to make a bad impression. In December, after a pretty solid win against the Flyers, the team decides to go out to one of their favorite spots to celebrate. Tyler almost has to force Jamie to go out – he pulls out the ‘you’re the captain and this is team bonding’ card before Jamie finally gives in.

They manage to snag a booth and a few tables and they settle in. Tyler winds up next to Jamie, their thighs pressed together tightly. The music is quiet enough that they can still have a conversation and once Jamie gets a few drinks in him, he loosens up. He rests his hand on Tyler’s knee as he tells him a story, and Tyler thinks he’s going to faint.

Tyler gets up to use the bathroom and is grateful when no one follows him. He splashes water on his face and looks in the mirror. _Come on, Tyler he’s your captain AND your friend. He’s probably totally straight and definitely not interested in the Boston badboy. Get a grip._ Tyler shakes himself off and leaves the bathroom.

As he walks back to their table, Tyler is stopped by an attractive guy with a southern drawl. “You come here often?” the guy asks, smiling widely at Tyler like he knows that was a cheesy line.

Tyler gives him a look and laughs. “Uh not too often, no.”

The guy gestures over to a group of people, “Wanna hang with us for a bit?”

Tyler looks back over to where the team was sitting. Jamie is nowhere in sight and it looks like everyone else has either cleared out or have already picked up. Tyler looks back at the guy and holds out his hand. “I’m Tyler.”

The guy leans in next to Tyler’s ear and says, “I’m John. Let’s get out of here.”

Tyler’s mouth is dry, so he just nods. The guy smiles and they head out. 

Tyler wakes up the next morning alone. He gets up and showers, trying to make himself feel better. When he gets out of the shower he looks at himself in the mirror. He can’t figure out why he’s feeling so crappy. He’s picked up random guys before. He did it all the time in Boston. So why does he feel so shitty about it now?

A little voice in his head tries to tell him it’s because of Jamie, but he just can’t deal with that right now. Jamie chooses that moment to text Tyler ‘wanna come down? Jordie’s making tacos’. Tyler really can’t deal with Jamie right now, so he just doesn’t respond. He ends up ignoring his phone for the rest of the day.

When he goes down to meet the Benns before practice the next day, Jordie gives him a look and whispers “Fix it,” as he opens the door to the apartment. Jamie is gathering up his things and doesn’t even say hi to Tyler. As they’re leaving the apartment, Tyler grabs Jamie’s arm and pulls him closer.

“Sorry about yesterday. I, uh, had a bad day.” Tyler smiles weakly at him.

Jamie looks relieved, although not entirely convinced. He pats Tyler on the arm. “No worries man. It happens.”

Jordie is standing in the doorway staring at them. “Are you two gonna stand there all day or can we go to practice now?”

Tyler can feel his cheeks get hot as he chirps back, “Yeah after you, old man!” Jordie rolls his eyes as Tyler punches his on the arm. They play fight all the way down to the truck. Tyler tries to push Jordie out of the way to get to the front seat, but Jordie just picks Tyler up and moves him out of the way. Jamie laughs and shakes his head at them. As the all get in the car, Tyler breathes a sigh of relief.

He doesn’t stay calm for long. He somehow performs really poorly during practice and is pissed by the time he hits the showers.

 He takes some chirping from Eaks about a hickey he had apparently acquired the night before. “Hey Segs, you get some last night?” Eaks waggles his eyebrows.

Tyler just smirks and says “I don’t kiss and tell.”

As Tyler walks back to his stall, he hears Kari teasing Jamie. “So that’s where you went off to the other night, huh? Got lucky!” Kari high-fives him.

Kari is pointing to a hickey on Jamie’s collarbone. Jamie is incredibly red and at a loss for words. He manages a weak, “Yeah I guess.”

Tyler turns away from them. He can’t stop thinking about Jamie with someone else. Tyler hadn’t even seen him leave with someone, although he was a little preoccupied talking himself down in the bathroom. He didn’t think that Jamie ever picked up when they went out. He hardly ever even went out with them.

Tyler spends the drive home looking out the window. He really shouldn’t be so upset about this; he did go home with someone else last night too. But that was to forget about Jamie. Now he had confirmation that Jamie really did not want him.

Jordie turns around in his seat to look at Tyler. “You okay there Segs? You’re being pretty quiet, especially for your loud mouth.”

Tyler catches Jamie’s eye in the rearview mirror and he swallows hard as he looks away. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, you know? Didn’t do that great at practice today.” He shrugs.

Jordie nods like he understands and drops the conversation. They all head up to the Benn’s apartment, even though it’s the last place Tyler wants to be right now. They order food in and turn on football. Tyler sits on the opposite end of the couch from Jamie, further away than he usually would. He’s not taking any chances right now. He ends up going home early, trying to ignore the looks that Jordie is shooting him all night.

When he’s lying in bed later, Tyler thinks maybe he’s being too hard on Jamie. It’s not Jamie’s fault that he’s not into Tyler and he doesn’t even know that Tyler is into him. He sends Jamie a quick text, ‘sorry if I was being weird tonight. got a lot on my mind’. 

Jamie replies immediately, ‘:(  wanna talk about it?’

 _Yes,_ Tyler thinks. But he responds ‘nah. ill be ok. see u tomorrow.’ Jamie doesn’t reply. Tyler feels satisfied and goes to sleep.

The next day at practice is not any better. Tyler injures his shoulder right as practice is wrapping up and he just wants to scream. His shoulder is incredibly tight and painful. He heads down to the trainer’s room before he hits the showers. Normally, he would have showered first, but he’s in a lot of pain. As the trainer is stretching him out he reassures Tyler that they injury is not serious and Tyler probably just needs some stretching and a good night’s sleep.

As Tyler is leaving the training room he passes a freshly showered Jamie. He stops to talk to him. “What’s up Chubbs?”

“Just coming down for a little stretch, you know.” Jamie looks uncomfortable, like he’s in pain but is trying not to show it.

“Are you gonna be okay? Do you want me to go with you?”

“No!” Jamie answers so quickly it makes Tyler flinch. “I mean, no thanks. I’ll be fine on my own.” He walks away without saying anything else.

Tyler is really confused at why Jamie was acting so weird. He sees Jordie when he gets back to the locker room and walks over to him. “Hey, what’s Jamie’s deal? He was acting really skittish just now outside the training room.”

Jordie looks up from tying his shoes, “Jamie doesn’t like talking about injuries with people. He’s private about them.”

Tyler can understand that. Jamie’s the captain and probably doesn’t want his teammates to worry about him. Plus he’s Jamie and he thinks he’s never allowed to show weakness ever. Tyler just rolls his eyes and hits the showers.

Getting stretched out felt good, but the shower must have helped even more because when Tyler gets out, he can hardly feel the pain. He sees Jamie and Jordie waiting for him and Jamie is looking a lot better too. Tyler gets dressed quickly and they leave, joking around and talking about what they’re going to do for dinner.

~~~

Jamie is glad that training camp has finally come. He’s been itching to get back on the ice, especially with the new team. He and Tyler click on the ice in a way no one’s ever connected with Jamie before. When Jamie gets named captain, he couldn’t be happier. He feels like he’s about to burst, but he keeps his cool on the outside. He goes through the awful press conferences and announcements, something he’s going to have to get used to.

As training camp and pre-season finish up, Jamie realizes what a big part of his life Tyler has become. He’s in their apartment all the time, making food or playing video games. He’s there right next to Jamie most of the time. It’s during this time that Jamie realizes he’s into Tyler. Tyler is a completely different person than Jamie was expecting him to be. He’s funny and loud in public, but Jamie’s also seen the quiet and reserved parts of Tyler. Their relationship is getting stronger every day and he can’t wait to get on the ice with him.

Jamie has absolutely no idea if Tyler’s straight or not. Every time they hang out, Tyler’s draping some part of his body on Jamie or Jordie, taking up all of their space. Jordie usually ends up shoving Tyler away, but Jamie never does. He likes the feeling of Tyler’s warmth pressed up against him. And Tyler’s always touching Jamie in some way, so that mean he has some sort of feelings for him, right?

Wrong. Jamie was so wrong. He figured it out when the team all went out together after a big win. Tyler had convinced him to come because of course Jamie can’t say no to Tyler. They squeeze into a booth together with a few of the guys. Jamie is actually having drinks tonight, and it helps him loosen up. He turns to Tyler to tell him a story and his hand rests naturally on Tyler’s knee.

That’s when it seems to go wrong. Tyler’s face looks panicky for a split second before he gets up and mumbles something about going to the bathroom. Jamie can’t breathe anymore. He looks for Jordie and finds him at the bar, talking to some guy.

“Hey Jor, I gotta go. I – I can’t.” He shakes his head to stop himself from crying.

Jordie looks concerned and immediately follows Jamie out of the bar. They hail a cab and head home, not saying anything. By the time they get in their apartment, Jamie is having a full-on panic attack. His heart is pounding and he can’t breathe at all. He feels like he could die at any moment.

“Breathe Jame, breathe. Here, put you head between your legs. Just listen to me, listen to my voice.” Jordie is rubbing circles on Jamie’s back, trying to calm him down. Jamie eventually manages to get his breathing back to normal.

Jordie looks like he doesn’t know what to do. “Jamie, what’s going on?”

Jamie looks at him and sighs before he says, “Tyler. I think I fucked up.”

Jordie gets an understanding looks on his face. “Okay. What _exactly_ happened Chubbs? What did you do?”

Jamie explains what happened at the bar and Jordie looks confused before he says, “Okay Chubbs, I know this isn’t what you want me to say, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Maybe Tyler really just had to go to the bathroom?”

Jamie gives Jordie a look. “Yeah, he just happens to have to go to the bathroom not a full minute after I stupidly decided to put my hand on his knee. You saw that tweet over the summer! Everyone has been saying he’s really homophobic. I should have listened to them.”

“What the fuck Jamie? No. First of all, Tyler said his Twitter was hacked. He’s your friend and you should believe him. Second of all, I know for a fact that Tyler’s not homophobic.”

“Oh really? How?” Jamie looks at Jordie.

“Because I told him I was gay and the first thing he said was ‘niiiiice’ and the second thing he said was ‘so you got a boyfriend?’”

Jamie has to think about that for a minute. “That still doesn’t mean that I didn’t freak him out.”

Jordie nods his head, “Sure, maybe you did freak him out, Jamie. But maybe it was just unexpected. If anything, I think you should talk to him about it.”

Jamie definitely does not talk to Tyler about it. In fact, he doesn’t talk to Tyler at all the next day. He sends Tyler a text and gets no response. Jamie’s paranoia from the day before comes back.Why would Tyler be ignoring him now? If Jordie was right, then Tyler should be coming up to hang out with them any minute. He doesn’t.

By nighttime, Jamie is ready to go down to Tyler’s apartment. He tells Jordie and Jordie immediately dismisses the idea, “No way Jamie. You don’t know what’s going on and if he wanted to talk about it he would have texted you back. Just let it be and maybe talk to him at practice tomorrow.”

As much as he hates to admit it, Jamie knows that Jordie is right. By the end of the night, Jamie has settled on being pissed at Tyler for not talking to him. He’s not even sure if he _wants_ to know what’s wrong with Tyler. Jamie is probably not going to talk to Tyler about this at all. It’s easier that way.

Jordie notices Jamie mood first thing in the morning. “Are you seriously gonna pout all day, Chubbs? You don’t know what’s going on.”

“That’s easy for you to say Darth. You’re not the one being ignored.” Jamie doesn’t want to hear it from Jordie today. Jordie raises his hands in surrender and the conversation dies.

There’s a knock on the door and Jordie heads over to let Tyler in. Jamie makes a point not to say anything, packing up his bag facing away from the door. He hears Jordie whisper something to Tyler as he’s turning around.

He starts heading for the door when Tyler stops him. He looks like he hasn’t slept at all. He looks at Jamie and apologizes. Jamie isn’t sure that Tyler even knows what he’s apologizing for, and honestly neither does Jamie. He nods and accepts the apology because it’s the easiest thing to do.

Jamie makes it through practice without too much trouble. He notices that Tyler is having an off day, but it probably has to do with whatever has been bothering him. Jamie considers asking what’s wrong, but the last thing he wants to do is stir the pot again.

When they get back to the locker room, Jamie hears Eaks chirping Tyler. Apparently Tyler has a hickie. Jamie’s mouth goes dry. So Tyler picked up the other night? Or last night? Is that why he wasn’t talking to Jamie – because he was with someone else? Jamie can’t help but be upset at the idea of Tyler with someone else.

Kari walks over to Jamie as he’s trying to sort through his feelings. He gives Jamie an appreciative looks before clapping him on the back. “Is that a HICKEY Jamie? So that’s where you got off to the other night! Got lucky!” Kari high-fives him and Jamie has no idea what’s going on, so he just plays along.

“Yeah, I guess.” _Very convincing Jamie._ Jordie is looking at Jamie confused. Jamie walks over to him. “It’s not mine Jordie, chill. Soulmate thing.” Jordie gets an unreadable look on his face before he just nods.

Tyler is really quiet on the drive home and Jamie is worried. He thought they were on the same page earlier, but now he wasn’t sure. As if he could read Jamie’s mind, Jordie turns around in his seat and asks Tyler if he’s okay. Tyler mumbles something about how practice sucked, but it’s not very convincing. Jordie and Jamie exchange a look, but neither of them says anything else.

Jamie knows he’s really fucked up when they get back to the apartment. Tyler actually comes to their apartment, which is surprising, but when they settle down on the couch for food and football, Tyler is sitting so far away from Jamie. Jamie is used to having Tyler pressed up against him or touching him in some way. Without it, he just feels empty. Tyler leaves early and Jamie immediately starts freaking out.

“Did I do something Jordie? I feel like this is my fault. He barely looked at me all night.”

“Jamie, I don’t wanna sound like a dick, but it’s not all about you. Tyler’s obviously got something going on, and he doesn’t really seem like he wants to talk about it. At least not with me or you.”

Jamie knows that Jordie is right, but there’s a part of Jamie that feels betrayed. He had thought he and Tyler were closer than that. “But doesn’t he trust me Jordie? He’s my best friend – apart from you – and I would tell him if there was something going on.”

“You mean like how you’ve told him that you’re in love with him?” Jordie gives him a look.

“Okay, okay. Good point.” Jamie will just have to give Tyler space until he’s ready.

At that moment, Jamie’s phone dings. It’s a text from Tyler, ‘sorry if I was being weird tonight. got a lot on my mind’.

Jamie replies immediately, ‘:(  wanna talk about it?’

Tyler responds ‘nah. ill be ok. see u tomorrow.’

Jamie looks at Jordie. “That was Tyler.”

“I figured.”

“He said sorry for being weird, but he doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“At least he’s being honest with you about stuff. He knows you worry.”

The next day, they are back to normal. They talk and joke on the way to practice and are totally in sync during practice. During the last few minutes, Lindy pulls Jamie aside to talk a little strategy. By the time they’re done, the rest of the guys are off the ice. Jamie goes to take a shower and notices that his shoulder is throbbing. He doesn’t remember hurting it during practice. _This soulmate thing is getting out of hand,_ Jamie thinks. He wonders if there’s a way to control it. Shoulder pain and stubbed toes are no big deal, but what if his soulmate breaks their hand again? Or dies? Jamie quickly pushes that thought out of his head.

He heads down to the trainer’s room after his shower to get stretched out. It has already started to feel better in the shower, but he doesn’t want to take any chances. He sees Tyler on his way in. Of course he stops to talk to Jamie.

 “What’s up Chubbs?”

“Just coming down for a little stretch, you know.” Jamie tries not to give away that he’s in pain. He doesn’t want Tyler to know and start to ask questions. Tyler offers to go to the trainer with Jamie, which is a little weird and alarming.

 “No!” Jamie answers so quickly it makes Tyler flinch. He backtracks “I mean, no thanks. I’ll be fine on my own.” He hurries away before Tyler can ask any more questions.

Later, when Jordie and Jamie are in their apartment and Tyler is in his, Jordie corners Jamie. “Tyler asked me about your injuries earlier. I waved him off, but maybe you should talk to him about it.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Cause you guys have definitely got something going on – don’t deny it – and he deserves to know about the soulmate thing.”

“Maybe I don’t want my soulmate anymore,” Jamie mumbles.

“What are you talking about, Chubbs? All you’ve cared about since you were eleven was finding your soulmate. Well, that and hockey. Are you just gonna give up on all of that now?”

“But Jordie, maybe I don’t want to meet my soulmate. What if I want to be with Tyler instead?”

“Chubbs, you don’t even know if Tyler wants what you want. And you know once you and your soulmate bond, there’s no going back. No one else matters after that,” Jordie looks sympathetic.

Jamie knows this, of course he does. It keeps him up at night, thinking about his soulmate and Tyler. Why can’t Tyler be his soulmate? That would solve everything, but, no, the world is cruel. Jamie can’t help it, but he starts to cry.

Jordie wraps Jamie in his arms, rocking softly and murmuring, “Hey Chubbs, it’s okay. Shhhh it’s gonna be okay. We’ll figure this out.” Jamie is still crying, but he sits up, wiping his eyes.

“Thanks Jordie.”

Jordie grins at him, “Anytime Chubbs. Anytime.”

~~~

A few weeks go by and everything is back to normal. Jamie and Tyler are back in a groove during their games and seem to be back to normal. The team has gone out a few times after games, but Jamie never picks up. Tyler doesn’t either and they just end up riding back together. Sometimes Jordie comes with, sometimes he doesn’t.

One day, Jamie has some captain stuff to do and is busy all day. Jordie had asked Tyler if he wanted to hang out and Tyler had said yes. They went out to a pizza place in downtown Dallas and were now waiting for their food. Jordie was looking at Tyler weirdly.

“What dude? Do I have something on my face?”

Jordie shakes his head like he’s coming out of a trance, “Sorry dude. I was just thinking. Hey, weird question: Do you know anything about soulmate injury bonds?”

Tyler feels like he’s been punched in the stomach. How did Jordie know? “Uh yeah. I know a few things. Why?”

“Well I think I might have that with my soulmate. Like, I’ve had injuries show up that weren’t mine and all that. So do you have it too?”

Tyler’s mouth is suddenly very dry. He takes a drink of water before answering, “I usually don’t talk about this Jordie. It’s kinda private.”

Jordie nods, “I understand. But you know you basically just told me that you do have that kind of soulmate bond.”

 _Shit. He’s right._ By not answering, Tyler had basically answered anyway. He glares at Jordie. “Well now that the cat’s out of the bag…what do you want to know about it?”

“Do you know who your soulmate is?”

Tyler shakes his head, “No. I’ve had a few false alarms though.”

Jordie looks surprised, “Really?”

“Yeah there was a guy in junior league who got a bloody nose like two minutes after mine. I started asking him all these questions about past injuries and it freaked him out.” Tyler laughs, “Turns out the kid who punched me in the nose had turned around and punched this guy and I missed it. I felt like such an idiot.”

Jordie laughs at that. “Have you ever thought anyone else could be your soulmate? After that guy I mean.”

Tyler looks at Jordie, suddenly confused. “Why are you asking me this Jor? This doesn’t seem to be about you at all.”

Jordie looks like he’s been caught. “Sorry dude. I was just really curious about it. Guess I got carried away.”

Tyler shrugs, “It’s okay, no sweat.”

Their food arrives at that moment and Tyler is thankful for the distraction. They spend the rest of the meal talking about sports and their teammates and anything but soulmates.

~~~

Jamie is so happy he could die. He still can’t believe it when he hangs up the phone. Jordie and Tyler are looking at him, concerned. Jordie speaks first.

“What happened Chubbs? Is everything okay? Is it Mom? Dad?” He checks his phone for missed calls.

Jamie shakes his head. He still can’t talk, but he walks over to the couch to sit down. Jordie and Tyler follow him like dogs. Tyler hits Jamie on the arm.

“Who was it Jame? What’s going on?”

Jamie speaks for the first time since he hung up the phone. “I made it.”

Jordie’s eyes go wide like he knows what Jamie means. Tyler looks confused as ever.

“I made the Olympic hockey team.”

Jordie and Tyler both let out a whoop before grabbing Jamie into a giant group hug. Once they let go, Jordie wraps and arms around Jamie’s neck and gives him a noogie. Jamie pushes him away, but can’t help but laugh.

Jamie is so happy he could burst. Then he thinks about Tyler. He turns to him, sympathy all over his face. “Hey man. Sorry –“

Tyler cuts him off. “Uh uh no way. Don’t you dare apologize for making the Olympic team.”

Jamie nods at him. Tyler is one of the nicest guys in the world. Any other guy would have probably been angry at Jamie for making it instead of himself. Shit, Jamie might have even reacted that way. But not Tyler. He seemed genuinely happy for Jamie.

Jordie and Tyler begin to discuss Olympic break plans while Jamie calls his parents. His mom keeps him on the phone for an entire hour, congratulating him and gushing over how proud she is. He finally gets to hang up and sighs. Jordie looks at him.

“I love Mom, but she can talk my ear off.”

Jordie chucks a pillow at him. “Her baby boy just made the Olympics! Give the woman a break!”

Jamie throws the pillow back before turning to Tyler, “So what did you decide?”

Tyler looks confused, “Decide?”

“About your vacation?”

Tyler brightens, “Cabo man! MEXICO! Gonna go down there and party with my boys.”

Jordie clears his throat meaningfully.

Tyler rolls his eyes, “ _Most_ of my boys, sorry Jordie.”

Jamie looks at Jordie. “Why don’t you go with him?”

Jordie laughs, “You want me to spend a week in Mexico with him? Are you crazy?”

Jordie is probably right. Tyler can get a little crazy and Jordie is a pretty laid back guy. Jamie laments for a minute that he can’t go to Mexico, before he remembers that he’s going to the Olympics and he smiles again.

“Look at that loser,” Jordie says. “Can’t stop smiling.”

Jamie whips a pillow at him.

“Who bought you guys pillows? Do you ever use them for anything besides throwing?” Tyler asks. He’s answered by two pillows flying at his face.

The time between finding out he’s made the Olympics and actually going to Sochi passes by faster than Jamie would have thought possible. Before he knows it, Jordie and Tyler are seeing him off at the airport and he’s on his way to Russia. He reminds them both to keep skype him and stay out of trouble. His stomach lurches when Tyler wraps him in a big hug and whispers in his ear, “Bring me home a gold medal.” He grins at Tyler and leaves.

~~~

Tyler is in love. With Mexico, that is. From the moment he got to the place he was staying, he was in love. He immediately went to the beach and ran into the ocean. The feeling was amazing.

He ends up missing Jamie’s first game because he messed up the time zones. Canada wins though and he sends Jamie a congratulatory text. Later that night, the guys convince Tyler to go out and get shitfaced. He was trying to stay sober so he could stay up and catch the next Canada game.

He ends up getting hammered, but remembers to set an alarm for the game. It goes off early and he stumbles out of bed. Well, he tries to. As soon as he puts weight on his right foot, he collapses. Pain is searing through his ankle. Tyler tries to think back to the night before. He doesn’t remember getting hurt. He sends a quick text to one of the guys, asking them if he hurt his ankle. He gets a quick ‘no fuck off im sleeping’ in response.

So Tyler’s soulmate must have gotten up to something yesterday. Or last night, whatever. Tyler tries not to think about it as he puts ice on his ankle and turns on the TV. It’s still on the pregame coverage, so he sits back and relaxes. He hears Jamie’s name, and quickly turns the volume up. “Jamie Benn has been scratched from today’s game. Apparently got into a little trouble during practice earlier today and is out with a lower body injury.”

Tyler’s mouth has gone dry. _No. No way._ He frantically searches for his phone and calls Jordie. He picks up on the third ring. “If this is a drunk dial Segs…”

“No, Jordie shut up for a second. What happened to Jamie?”

“He just hurt his ankle Seggy. Don’t worry about it. Docs said he would be fine to play the next game.”

Tyler is pretty sure he stops breathing for a second. Is Jamie his soulmate? “I gotta go Jordie. I gotta get on a plane.” He hangs up before Jordie can reply. He makes up some crappy excuse and tells the guys he has to leave. He gets on an evening flight and is back in Dallas the next day.

Tired and limping, he knocks on Jordie and Jamie’s apartment door. Jordie opens the door and Tyler pushes past him. He sees Dills on the couch in nothing but his boxers and stops. He looks back at Jordie and then back at Dills.

“Uhh. Am I interrupting something?” He turns to look at Jordie who has his arms crossed and has turned a brilliant shade of red.

“Kinda looks like it doesn’t it Seggy? You know, most people call before they fly in from Cabo and barge into your house unannounced. Why are you here anyway?”

Tyler ignores him for a second. “Are you two fucking?” He looks at them both again before leaning in towards Dills and giving him a high-five. Dills looks like he wants the couch to swallow him.

Jordie flicks Tyler on the ear. “Why. Are. You. Here.”

Tyler looks back at him and remembers. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Well can it wait? We were kind of busy here.”

“It’s about Jamie.”

Jordie stops trying to push Tyler out of the door when he notices the limping. “Segs, what’s wrong with your ankle?”

Tyler smiles weakly. “That’s what we need to talk about.”

Jordie turns to look at Dills. “Okay this is gonna sound totally crazy, but I really need to talk to Tyler right now. Can I call you later?”

Dills nods, “Seems like he needs you more than I do right now.” He kisses Jordie and leaves. Tyler just stares at him. He would have never guessed.

As soon as Dills is gone Jordie turns to look at Tyler. “If you’re gonna tell me what I think you’re gonna tell me, I need a drink.”

Tyler thinks he needs a drink too. Or five. He hasn’t really processed the fact that Jamie might be his soulmate. He’s afraid this is going to end up like all of those other times he thought someone was his soulmate. This time, he’s going to make sure he’s certain before he talks to Jamie.

Jordie comes out of the kitchen with two beers and motions for Tyler to sit down. “Okay Seggy. Lay it on me. What happened to you?”

Tyler tells him about waking up with the hurt ankle and asking the guys about injuring it. He tells him about hearing on the TV about Jamie’s injury. “It was like I knew, Jordie. They didn’t even say what happened to him, but I just knew.”

Jordie looks thoughtful, “Have you and Jamie ever kissed?”

The question seems a little off topic, but Tyler answers him anyway. “No, Jordie. Don’t you think he would have told you? Why is this important?”

“Because that’s how you secure a bond, dipshit.”

Tyler had forgotten about that. He looks back at Jordie, “I need you to tell me about every injury Jamie has ever had. I need to make sure.”

Jordie looks uncomfortable for a minute, “I don’t know Seggy…”

“ _Please_ Jordie. I have to know for sure if it’s Jamie. I can’t have it be like the other times. I can’t have my heart broken like that again.”

That seems to do it. Jordie nods and starts talking, “He hasn’t had a lot of major injuries that were his. His hand was broken when he was eighteen. That sucked because he couldn’t play for a while and it wasn’t his fault.”

Tyler quickly did the math in his head. Sixteen. He would have been sixteen. He was sixteen when he came out to Brownie and punched his wall when he found out the Brownie didn’t love him back.

“I think he broke his arm when he was like nine? He fell out of his bunk bed when he was sleeping. That was pretty bad.”

Tyler remembers waking up one night in serious pain. He had gotten a broken arm out of nowhere. That’s when he found out about the bond. He looks at Jordie, who had stopped talking when he looked back at Tyler.

“It’s you isn’t it? You’re Jamie’s soulmate aren’t you?”

Tyler nods.

“I kind of had a feeling you were.”

Tyler’s head snaps up, “Wait, what? You knew and you didn’t tell us? Is that why you were asking me all those questions before?”

Jordie backtracks, “I didn’t _know_ Tyler. I _suspected._ It’s not my place to tell someone who their soulmate may or may not be.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do now Jordie? Jamie’s in Russia for the next week. Am I just supposed to sit here knowing he’s my soulmate?”

“Well, it’s either that or you fly to Russia. _No Tyler_ that was a joke you cannot fly to Russia to tell him you’re his soulmate.”

It had seemed like a pretty good idea to Tyler. The sooner Jamie knew the better. But Jordie was right. The last thing Jamie needed right now was a distraction. Tyler was pulled out of his thoughts by Jordie shoving an iPad into his face. Jamie was on the screen on the video chat. He looked good, happy.

“Hey Jame what’s goin on?” That was probably the stupidest thing he could have ever said god –

“Yo earth to Seggy!”

“Sorry Jamie. What did you say?”

“I said ‘What are you doing in Dallas’? Didn’t you just get to Cabo like two days ago?”

“Oh yeah.” Tyler rubs the back of his neck. “Something came up. I’ll tell you about it later. Tell me about your first Olympic game!”

Jamie goes into a long story about his game. Tyler tries to pay attention, he really does, but he keeps getting lost in thinking about Jamie. Jamie who is on the screen in front of him. Jamie who doesn’t know that he’s currently skyping with his soulmate. His thoughts are once again interrupted by Jordie.

“Hey Seggy, share the screen. He’s _my_ brother and he called to talk to _me_.”

Tyler makes rooms for Jordie on the couch and they talk to Jamie for a while. When Jamie talks about his ankle, Jordie taps Tyler on the leg like he’s reminding him not to say anything. Tyler gives him a look that goes unnoticed by Jamie. Eventually, Jamie has to go and they say their goodbyes. Tyler feels exhausted after that. He heads down to his apartment to sleep.

The week between Tyler coming back to Dallas and Jamie coming back to Dallas is torture. Tyler tries to occupy his time, but mostly he spends his time cockblocking Jordie and Dills. He doesn’t do it on purpose, but he always ends up showing up when they are about to get it on. Now that he thinks about it, Tyler doesn’t think it would matter what time he got there, they’d probably be getting it on. Tyler asked Jordie about it one day after Dills had just left.

“So when did that start Jordie? And does Jamie know? He might kick your ass for dating a teammate you know.”

Jordie gives him a look and Tyler remembers that ‘oh yeah Jamie is his soulmate and his captain’ and he gets a whole new set of worries. Jordie starts telling him about Dills.

“It’s only been going on for like a week. I wouldn’t normally have kept it going but,” Jordie stops for a second and looks like he’s considering something. “I was gonna tell Jamie first, but I need to tell _someone._ Dills is my soulmate Ty.”

Tyler hugs Jordie tightly. “No fuckin way man! That’s great!”

“Yeah, it was kinda weird though. Like, one minute we’re just trying to hook up with each other and the next minute we’re both crying.” He looks at Tyler threateningly, “Don’t tell anyone I told you that.”

Tyler laughs, “Of course not.” He pauses for a second, “What’s it like? I mean, how does it feel, knowing that the person you love is your soulmate? Is it different than another relationship?”

Jordie looks thoughtful for a moment, “It’s amazing Ty. It’s like every other person I’ve ever dated never mattered. Like they were just preparation for my real relationship.”

Tyler breathes a sigh of relief. Knowing that Jordie was way happier after having only been with Dills for a few weeks makes Tyler feel better about telling Jamie. It’s not like Tyler isn’t still worried, but he’s a little more confident.

Tyler and Jordie go to the airport together to pick Jamie up. Jordie had tried to convince Tyler to stay home and wait, but it was no use. Tyler really wanted to see Jamie. Still, Jordie had given him a whole ‘please don’t tell my brother you’re his soulmate in the middle of the airport’ speech.

Tyler wasn’t stupid enough to do it in public. He wanted to tell Jamie at home, where he would feel more comfortable and have somewhere to run if things went bad. He didn’t necessarily think things would go bad, but honestly he didn’t even know if Jamie likes guys. He had tried to ask Jordie, but he just shook his head and refused to answer.

When he finally sees Jamie walking towards him, Tyler freezes. He feels like he can’t breathe. How can he wait when Jamie is right there? Jordie seems to sense the change in Tyler and leans towards him and whispers, “If you do anything here, I’ll kill you. Wait.”

Tyler sighs, but he knows that Jordie is right. When Jamie finally reaches them, he hugs Jordie. Then he wraps Tyler in a big hug. It feels different somehow. He and Jamie have hugged before, but not like this. Jamie hugs him like he never wants to let him go. They finally break apart and Jordie is watching them with raised eyebrows.

Jamie coughs and says, “Let’s get out of here. I’m ready to be home.”

The drive back to their apartments is filled with Jamie talking about the Olympics. He tries to ask Tyler about Cabo and coming home early, but Jordie quickly interrupts with a question about Sidney Crosby and Jamie excitedly begins to tell them another story. When they finally get home, Tyler presses the button for his floor. Jamie gives him a weird look.

“I just got home. Don’t you want to hang out?”

Tyler rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, actually I was gonna ask you to come to my place. I need to talk to you about something.”

Jamie looks confused and a little concerned. He turns to look at Jordie. Jordie just raises his hands and says, ‘Don’t look at me, Chubbs. I gotta call Dills anyway.”

Jamie looks even more confused. They finally reach Tyler’s floor and Tyler pulls Jamie along with him.

“Ty, I still have all my stuff.”

“We can take it up later. Come on.”

They reach Tyler’s door and Tyler’s hands are shaking so much he drops his keys. Jamie, being the good guy that he is, reaches down to pick them up. He gently pushes Tyler out of the way and unlocks the door. They both enter the apartment and are immediately attacked by Marshall. Jamie says his hellos to Marshall while Tyler starts to pace around. Jamie looks up at him and stops petting Marshall.

“What’s going on Ty? You’re acting really weird. Nervous.”

Tyler looks at Jamie and suddenly he can’t hold it in anymore. “Jamie, I think we’re soulmates.”

~~~

Jamie sort of feels like he can’t breathe. No, wait a minute. He actually stopped breathing. He puffs out a large breath and sucks in air, gasping for breath. Tyler is looking at him like he’s not quite sure what to do. Jamie goes to the couch and sits down. Tyler follows him.

Jamie looks up at Tyler. “What do you mean? I mean – Why?”

Tyler kind of looks like he’s going to puke, but he answers Jamie anyway, “You know how you hurt your ankle last week?”

Jamie looks up at Tyler, shocked, “You got hurt too, didn’t you?”

Tyler nods at him. “I don’t mean to be blunt, but you haven’t said anything yet, Jamie. Is this okay with you? Do you need me to leave you alone for a while? I’ve had a whole week to think about this and you just found out two minutes ago.”

Jamie shakes his head. He doesn’t want Tyler to think for a second that he doesn’t want him. He grabs Tyler’s hand.

“Of course it’s okay with me. I’ve basically been in love with you since you came to Dallas. I was just nervous that we would get into a relationship and then I would find my soulmate and everything would be ruined.”

Tyler breaks out into the brightest smile Jamie’s ever seen. He leans in like he’s going to kiss Jamie, but stops and pulls his head back before he gets close. He suddenly looks very nervous.

“What’s wrong Ty? I’ve never seen you nervous to kiss anyone.” And okay, maybe Jamie shouldn’t have brought up the fact that Tyler has kissed other people right before he’s going to kiss him.

Tyler gives him a look, before he gets tense again. “I’m scared Jamie. What if we just think we’re soulmates and we kiss and we’re not and then we have to go on for however long tiptoeing around the fact that we are actually not soulmates?”

And yeah, Jamie had thought about that too, but he didn’t care anymore. He needed to know.

“I don’t care if you are or aren’t my soulmate Tyler. I really want to kiss you right now. I’ve wanted to kiss you for _months._ ” That seems to do it. Tyler leans in to kiss Jamie. Jamie meets him halfway and their lips finally connect.

Jamie has never had a kiss like this before. Kissing Tyler is electric. It’s like Jamie can feel Tyler running through his veins. Jamie deepens the kiss as Tyler opens his mouth to let Jamie in. Suddenly, Jamie is beginning to understand everything he’s ever heard about soulmate bonding. He feels like every kiss he’s ever had before this one was irrelevant. He pauses for a second, pulling back and looking at Tyler.

“Was that – I mean – did you feel it too?”

Tyler laughs and nods, “That was insane. Best kiss ever.” He leans in and starts kissing Jamie again, this time with more enthusiasm.

Jamie moves until he’s on top of Tyler. Tyler makes an ‘oof’ noise and Jamie stops kissing him.

“You’re crushing me Jamie,” Tyler groans.

Embarrassed, Jamie moves away from Tyler to lie back on the couch. Tyler straddles Jamie and continues their kiss. Jamie moves his hands to cup Tyler’s face. Tyler hums his approval. They make out for a while before Tyler moves. He settles his knee in between Jamie’s legs and begins to grind against Jamie’s thigh. He pauses their kiss to gasp and Jamie groans in response, rutting against Tyler’s thigh.

“Ty – I’m not gonna last long.”

Tyler just nods and kisses Jamie again. It takes about ten more seconds of heavy making out and awkward thrusting before Jamie comes in his pants like a teenager. Tyler feels him go slack and pulls away for a second, a smile playing at his lips.

“Jeez Jamie has it been that long? You barely lasted a minute.”

Jamie blushes and turns his attention to getting Tyler off. He barely gets his hand in Tyler’s pants before he’s coming too, gasping Jamie’s name into his neck. Tyler collapses onto Jamie, breathing heavily.

“You barely lasted two,” Jamie whispers into Tyler’s ear. Tyler laughs at that and brings his body up to rest on his elbows, eyes locked with Jamie’s.

“I guess we’ll just have to work on that.” Tyler waggles his eyebrows as he talks and Jamie can’t help but laugh. They lie there for another moment before Jamie’s pants begin to feel uncomfortable.

“We should probably get cleaned up,” He says gesturing between them.

Tyler nods and says, “Yeah, we should also let Jordie know that everything is fine and we’re crazy in love.”

Jamie eyebrows quirk up, “Love, huh?”

Tyler shrugs and says, “I don’t do anything halfway. You should know that by now.”

Jamie grabs his arm and pulls him towards the bathroom. They take their time in the shower, pressing each other against the wall for lazy hand jobs and making out. By the time they get out, Jamie has been there for over an hour and he has three texts from Jordie.

“We better go talk to Jordie,” Jamie says as he watches Tyler get dressed. “He’s freaking out.”

Tyler nods as he grabs some clothes for Jamie to wear. He steals the hoodie Jamie had been wearing when he came home. It’s an official Team Canada hoodie and it has Jamie’s name and number plastered on the back. Jamie can’t lie; he loves the way Tyler looks with his name across his back. Tyler grins when he catches Jamie staring and he pulls him into a kiss.

They gather up Jamie’s bags from the floor and take the elevator up to his and Jordie’s apartment. Tyler steals one more kiss before they go inside. Jamie’s face is still flushed when he and Tyler enter the apartment. Jordie jumps up from the couch and turns to face them. He notices their hands wrapped around each other and grins.

“So…soulmates right?”

Jamie looks at Tyler, “Yeah. We’re soulmates.” He can’t help but lean down to kiss Tyler and Jordie makes a gagging sound, but he’s still grinning. His phone rings at that moment and his whole face lights up. He hurries back to his room and slams the door shut. He’s only gone a few minutes and when he gets back, Jamie and Tyler have settled onto the couch and are bickering about what to watch on Netflix.

Jordie plops down on the recliner and Jamie looks up at him. There’s something different about Jordie. Jamie had noticed it in the car on the way home, but he wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Jordie seemed…happy?

“So who called Jordie?”

Jordie locks eyes with Tyler before saying, “Brenden.”

“ _Brenden?”_ Jamie can’t remember the last time he heard anyone call Dills anything other than Dills. “What do you mean _Brenden?”_

Jordie sort of winces before saying, “Uh Dills? His first name is Brenden?”

“I’m aware of that, thanks. What I’m not aware of is why you’re using it. Last time I checked you’re not his mom.”

Tyler puts his hand on Jamie’s thigh and Jamie looks at him momentarily before whipping his head back to Jordie, “You’re dating Dills aren’t you? Oh my god you are!” Jamie hops over to the recliner and collapses onto Jordie.

“Dude! That’s awesome!”

Jordie looks surprised, “You’re not mad?”

“Well I think I might have been like a few hours ago, but my soulmate is my teammate too, so I can’t exactly be mad about you for dating one. Although, I am worried about you dating someone without knowing who your soulmate is. You know that can end badly, especially if it’s someone you see all of the time like Dills.”

“Yeah see that’s the thing. He is. My soulmate, I mean. We’re soulmates.” Jordie is fucking _beaming_ and Jamie can’t remember ever seeing him in a better mood. He pulls him into a bear hug and whispers into his ear, “I’m so fucking happy for you.”

~

Tyler had kind of been hanging back as the two brothers had been talking. It wasn’t like he felt uncomfortable or anything, it had just seemed like a conversation they had needed to have without him. As they talked, Tyler couldn’t help but touch Jamie. _His Jamie._ Tyler had a week to get used to the idea of Jamie _maybe_ being his soulmate, but actually knowing that Jamie was his soulmate was a whole new thing for Tyler. He kept alternating between touching Jamie and pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

Jordie is telling Jamie that Dills is his soulmate and Tyler just wants to scream at him to leave them alone so he can have Jamie all to himself. But he doesn’t. Obviously. Instead, he waits for Jamie to remember that he is there, and god is that a great moment. Jamie’s whole face lights up when he looks at Tyler and Tyler feels like all the air has gone out of his lungs. Jamie turns back to Jordie and Tyler tries to collect himself. He’s never been this uncool in front of a boyfriend (?) before.

Finally, Jordie and Jamie are done talking and they all get food. Tyler somehow sits through an entire movie. All he wants to do is be alone with Jamie forever. Snuggling on the couch while they watch a movie is a fair substitute though. Jamie lets Tyler be the little spoon and hooks his leg around Tyler’s ankle. He spends the moving slowly rubbing Tyler’s ankle with his foot. It’s distracting and Tyler’s not even sure he knows what movie they just watched. By the time the movie is over, Tyler is itching to go back to his apartment and take Jamie with him.

It seems like Jamie has the same idea because he gently nudges Tyler forward and moves to get up. Jordie gives them a knowing look and says, “Use protection.” Jamie blushes and Tyler drags him out the door and to the elevator. As soon as they get inside Tyler’s apartment, Jamie grabs Tyler by the back of the neck and pulls him in for a kiss. Tyler whimpers and kisses him back, dazed. They stay like that for a while, Jamie pressing Tyler up against the wall and gently running on hand up and down his arm. It makes Tyler shiver and Jamie smiles, breaking the kiss.

“Bedroom,” Tyler manages to say, shakily. Jamie grins even more and half carries Tyler to his bed. Tyler lands on his bed with a plop and Jamie crawls up after him, connecting their mouths with another kiss. Tyler puts his hands under Jamie’s shirt, running his hands up and down his back.

Jamie moves his hands down to Tyler’s belt and starts unbuckling it. He stops, and looks up at Tyler, “Is this okay?”

And fuck. They’re soulmates, fucking made for each other, and Jamie is still asking Tyler for permission. Tyler takes a moment to appreciate what a good guy Jamie is. He’s pulled out of his thoughts when he realizes that Jamie is still staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“Yes. Yes, of course it’s okay babe.”

Jamie grins at that and goes back to getting Tyler’s pants off. Tyler is getting impatient, so he rips his shirt off and starts clawing at Jamie’s. Soon, they’re both down to just boxers. Tyler pulls Jamie back up into a kiss. Jamie starts grinding down on Tyler as he deepens the kiss. Tyler moves his mouth and starts biting at Jamie’s neck, smug about the breathy sounds Jamie makes with each bite.

“What do you want to do?” Jamie asks. Tyler thinks for a moment before he says, “Blow me.”

Jamie laughs and says, “Charming.” He begins to slide down and Tyler moves up, meeting him halfway. Jamie starts mouthing at Tyler’s dick through his boxers and Tyler moans. Jamie yanks Tyler’s boxers off in one motion and before Tyler can make a snarky comment, his dick is in Jamie’s mouth.

Jamie's mouth is hot and wet around Tyler and it feels so fucking good. Jamie works his mouth around Tyler’s dick, hollowing out his cheeks and licking its length. Tyler tries to say something as Jamie pulls off for a moment, but ends up babbling when Jamie suddenly sucks his finger and presses it into Tyler. It’s not lubed up enough and it stings a little, but after a moment none of that matters because Jamie is slowly crooking his finger back and forth, and Tyler is trying hard not to scream at the top of his lungs. It doesn’t take long for Tyler to come and Jamie swallows it all down, rubbing Tyler’s leg as he comes down from his orgasm.

Tyler feels wrung out and plastered to the bed. Jamie moves up and straddles Tyler, still hard. “You gonna help me get off, or are you just gonna lay there?” Tyler just grunts and reaches for Jamie’s dick, grabbing a little too hard.

“Okay, I’m never letting you touch my dick again. Are you trying to _steal it?”_ Tyler sticks his tongue out at Jamie. Jamie responds by pushing Tyler’s hand away and starting to jerk himself off. “Can I come on you at least?” Tyler nods enthusiastically and Jamie grins at him. It only takes another minute for Jamie to come, spreading across Tyler’s stomach and chest. Jamie leans down to kiss Tyler before getting up to get a washcloth. He wipes them both off before tossing the cloth.

Tyler manages to get under the covers and pulls Jamie with him. They end up facing each other, legs intertwined. Tyler is still a little out of it and Jamie just shakes his head, “You’re a little weird after you come you know that?” Tyler just shrugs and Jamie laughs again before kissing Tyler.

They just lay there for a while before Tyler breaks the silence, “Am I gonna get all these hickies too?” He points at Jamie’s neck. Jamie shakes his head, “I’m pretty sure the injuries stop after we secure the bond.”

“You’re pretty sure?”

“Well I read something about people who sometimes still get them, like when their relationship is suffering.”

Tyler quiets at that, “So we’re never sharing injuries again, right?”

“Let’s hope not,” Jamie says.

They wake up the next morning, wrapped up in each other. In the light of the day, it’s clear that what Jamie said was true – they don’t have hickies in the same spots. Jamie looks disappointed when he realizes, so Tyler makes sure to mark him on every inch of his neck, just to be sure.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. My first fic ever started out as a one shot idea that grew into this 15k monster. 
> 
> I want to thank my best friend for beta-ing this fic and listening to all of my rambling and doubting during this process. (She's on tumblr at ughhgghg.tumblr.com)
> 
> I probably totally wrecked the actual timeline for this, so let's just say I took liberties with it!
> 
> Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Find me on tumblr - dartheighter.tumblr.com
> 
> (Sorry about the switching verb tenses - it's my enemy)


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